Abstract: :
Purpose: To determine whether cellular settlement onto a surfacecan be significantly altered by changing surface properties.Methods: Using bovine lens epithelial cells (BLECs, passage5 or less) in tissue culture, monolayer models were set up tostudy cellular adhesion onto three different types of materials.The materials used were polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), siliconeand a hydrophobic acrylic polymer (AcrySof, Alcon). These werechosen because of their everyday clinical applications in theguises of intraocular lenses (IOLs). The materials underwenta low-energy gas plasma treatment (nitrogen or air) which renderedthe surfaces more hydrophilic. This treatment offers a controllablemeans of chemically modifying surfaces without affecting thebulk properties. This change was measured by dynamic contactangle measurements (DCA). The treated materials and controlswere placed in 24-well plates. BLECs were seeded into thesewells, at a density of 30,000 cells per well. The culture mediumused was Dulbecco’s Modified Essential Medium (DMEM) with20% foetal calf serum. Serial photographs were taken to demonstratecell settlement at days 1, 3, 7 and 14. The plates were thenfixed and stained with haematoxylin.Results: The gas plasmatreatment significantly increased the hydrophilicity of surfaces(Table 1). BLECs settled faster and better on hydrophilic surfacesthroughout . In addition, the cellular morphology was different.While the hydrophilic surfaces developed a confluent layer ofcuboidal BLECs within 1 week, the relatively hydrophobic surfaceshad sparse populations of spindle-shaped cells.Conclusions:In addition to the recognised factors of IOL edge design andchoice of materials, the authors believe that surface propertiesmay have a beneficial effect in combating posterior capsularopacification by means of altering cellular adhesion and migration.Further in vitro models are underway. Table 1. Dynamic contact angle (DCA) measurements to determinechange in hydrophobic properties